30 Days of Night: Dark Days

As the perpetual darkness of Barrow's month-long sunset still lingers in her mind, Stella (Kiele Sanchez) wanders the globe, haunted by the unending grief of losing her husband Eben and crippled by nightmares that have left her emotionally numb. Her days are filled with a relentless drive to convince others of the very real existence of vampires, their malevolent presence an ever-present threat to her own survival.

Like a ghostly apparition, Stella is perpetually stalked by the specter of death, her every move calculated to evade the clutches of those who would see her join the countless victims claimed by the undead. And yet, she presses on, fueled by a burning hatred for the monsters that took everything from her.

Following a cryptic message from an enigmatic figure known only as Dane, Stella finds herself drawn into the bustling metropolis of Los Angeles, where the neon-lit streets seem to pulse with the very life force she's lost. It is here, in this city of dreams and disillusionment, that she delivers a lecture meant to convince her audience of the reality of vampires.

As she speaks, Stella's words are accompanied by an eerie sense of foreboding, as if the shadows themselves are listening intently for any sign of weakness. And then, without warning, she activates the overhead ultraviolet lamps, bathing the room in an otherworldly glow that incinerates several of the vampires lurking in the audience before they can strike.

The authorities quickly apprehend Stella, harassing her with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion as she's grilled by FBI Agent Norris, a man who seems all too familiar with the dark forces she's been warning about. But it soon becomes clear that Norris is more than just a curious cop - he's a 'familiar', one of the thousands of human followers of the vampires, tasked with keeping their activities shrouded in secrecy.

After her release from custody, Stella returns to her hotel room, only to find three individuals waiting for her: Paul (Rhys Coiro), Amber (Diora Baird), and Todd (Harold Perrineau). These strangers claim to be sent by Dane, whose true intentions remain shrouded in mystery. As they reveal their plan to hunt down Lilith, the vampire queen believed responsible for the undead's every move, Stella is left reeling from the revelation that she was instrumental in triggering the massacre at Barrow.

As the stakes are raised and the game of cat and mouse begins, Stella finds herself face to face with Dane (Ben Cotton), a man whose very existence defies explanation. A vampire himself, Dane has managed to maintain a tenuous grip on his humanity, sustaining himself solely on packaged hospital blood. The implications are clear: in a world where the line between human and monster is blurred beyond recognition, Stella must confront the dark forces head-on if she hopes to reclaim her own humanity.

As trepidation slowly gives way to resolve, Paul ultimately persuades Stella to join forces with them, sharing his personal tale of anguish and heartbreak after a vampire's brutal slaying of his daughter led to a painful divorce from his wife. The weight of his emotional scars still lingered as he recounts the harrowing experience.

The next day, their quartet ventures forth to confront a vampire stronghold, only to be swiftly overwhelmed by a horde of bloodthirsty creatures. In a desperate bid to escape, Todd finds himself felled and transformed into one of the undead after being left cowering in the cellar with his companions. When Paul's hesitation turns deadly, Stella seizes the opportunity to deliver a fatal blow, crushing Todd's skull with a heavy cinder block.

As night begins to fall, they devise a plan to make their escape during the vampires' nocturnal feeding frenzy. Meanwhile, Dane arrives at their hiding place, liberating them and leading them on a new mission to capture a vampire captive. Through a combination of ultraviolet light interrogation and careful observation, Dane eventually follows the vampire's clues back to another nest.

Their infiltration yields a significant prize: a human captive being used as a feeding station, whose memories prove crucial in planning an attack on Lilith's stronghold aboard one of her ships moored in the bay. Back at Dane's hideout, the tension between Stella and Paul reaches a boiling point as they indulge in a passionate night together.

Meanwhile, Lilith has her own plans for Agent Norris, determined to transform him into a vampire if he can prove his worth by curing his throat cancer. With cold calculation, she bites captive Stacey (Katharine Isabelle), siphoning her blood until the girl's lifeless body lies at her feet. The transformation complete, Lilith now dispatches her newly minted minion to hunt down Stella and their companions.

As the chaos of their harrowing escape from the nest subsides, the remaining trio - including (Stella) - journeys to a boat yard, where they're set to embark on a perilous journey to Alaska. Jennifer astutely points out the vessel that will be their temporary home for the next 30 days, during which time they'll be forced to sustain themselves with human blood. With no other choice, the group decides to leave Jennifer behind and secretly stowaway on the ship. Little do they know, this ill-fated decision will lead them down a dark path of discovery, as they learn that vampires can indeed be resurrected from death if their lifeless bodies are nourished with human blood.

As tensions rise, the group encounters the ship's unsuspecting captain, who reveals his motives for carrying the undead: he had been threatened by them, and now seeks revenge. Amber intervenes, only to be suddenly yanked away by an unseen force and accidentally kills the captain with her gun. In the ensuing chaos, Stella and Paul are too late to save her from being devoured. They soon find themselves captured by Norris and Lilith, who order their captives to be drained of blood.

In a moment of desperation, Stella manages to break free from Norris's grasp and exacts a gruesome revenge, severing his head with a swift blade. However, this fleeting triumph is short-lived, as Lilith launches a vicious counterattack, leaving Paul brutally slain in the process. As Stella finds herself outmatched in hand-to-hand combat, she hides from Lilith's relentless pursuit, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. When the queen finally comes looking for her, Stella emerges from a tub of blood, ready to exact her revenge once more. With a swift and deadly decapitation, Lilith falls, and the other vampires, recognizing the futility of resistance, stand idly by as Stella passes unchallenged.

With her vendetta satisfied, Stella returns to Barrow, where she's consumed by grief and guilt over the losses suffered during their ill-fated journey. In a desperate bid to revive her beloved Eben, she exhumes his grave and feeds him her own blood, only to discover that it has no reviving effect. As she slowly succumbs to blood loss, Stella sees Eben return to his former vitality, his eyes glowing with an unnatural light. With a mix of joy and horror, she's pulled into a deadly embrace by the now-reanimated Eben, who sinks his fangs deep into her neck just as the screen fades to black.